Thunder in the Earth, the course of Heaven

Holy crap did we ever get a lot of snow! The official amount was about 44cm (about 17 inches) out here in Abbotsford. The roads are still a mess, and the highway is all packed snow and ice. Now the wind has picked up again and the snow is blowing into big drifts.

I love it!!!

I went out walking before work today, and it was fun watching the wind blow the snow around. It was nice and quiet too, with the snow acting as a sound dampner, and less cars than usual on the roads. I took some photos and have them on Flickr.

Not many people showed up to work today, there was only about 20 of us there this afternoon. Over 80 people had called in saying they wouldn't be there because of the snow. And we were supposed to go out and do a high power run on a plane, but the taxiway was so icy, that we decided that it would be safer if we didn't. I could just imagine seeing a 737 sliding down the taxiway with the brakes locked!

The weatherman is saying that we are supposed to be cold for a few more days, with more snow on Thursday. I say bring it on! I love this white stuff!

My skin is cold

Winter is here!

It is a bit early this year, with such a lovely Autumn, followed by a couple of really nasty storms that knocked power out and turned most of Vancouvers drinking water brown, and now...SNOW!!(that sentence kind of didn't make sense, but I am going to leave it anyway)

I just came back from a walk in it, and there is probably 4-5cm down already. I have heard rumours that there will be 24-30cm over the next couple of days. I was supposed to go into Vancouver tonight, but I am glad that common sense prevailed and I stayed home. I probably would have made it, but coming home would have been a challenge.

I might go out late tonight with the camera and take some photos of the snow on the trees in the light from the streetlamps. I like the way the light sparkles on the snow, very pretty.

Gazing through trees in sorrow hardly a sound till tomorrow

I had a bit of really bad news when I got to work this morning. Two co-workers and good friends were killed over the weekend when their vehicle rolled over and embankment in the mountains.

It seems that Lyle and Denise (Daisy) had gone up to some hotsprings up above Harrison lake, and were coming home when something happened to cause the vehicle to go over the embankment. The weather this past weekend wasn't overly good; there was a lot of snow and rain to contend with, and from what I have heard, it might even have been dark when they were driving down.

I am not exactly sure when they were up there, but we were told that they were originally reported missing, and Search and Rescue had been up looking for them. Lyle's a very resourceful guy, and Daisy was a tough cookie too, so those that knew what was going on were hoping that they had just broken down. When Search and Rescue said they found a vehicle at the bottom of a cliff that looked like theirs, there wasn't much hope left. We were told that it didn't look like they had survived the fall, and that they perished quickly, not suffering for the two days that they had been looked for.

My heart goes out to their families, specially Daisy's young kids and new husband. They will be both missed terribly.

A crater in the Sun

Two days done, and I have had enough.

The first two days back at work haven't been all that great. I managed two minutes of enjoyment before I found the new dent in my tool box, and the damaged wheels from trying to move it with the brakes on. (I had those wheels replaced just before I left last spring for the same reason) Too many new people who don't care about other peoples personal property there now.

My biggest let down is the drop in brain usage. In France, I was making important decisions, running aircraft, signing log books, taking on a lot of responsibility. Here, I feel like I am in kindergarden, being told what to do, not allowed to make decisions anymore, have to get approval from everybody, then you still get it wrong. And I am also babysitting apprentices again, which I don't mind a bit, but some of these new ones seem that they have no idea what a day of work is and you need to hold their hands all the time.

I also found out that I won't be going to France at Christmas, seems that they took to long to get things organized, and so getting a visa in time is out of the question. I still have a chance to go next year, but I probably won't find out till just before I go, which will really screw me around again. Nothing new there.

I am going to see about getting out to YVR again, there were supposedly two guys quit out there, and the boss at YVR wants me back. That would be a good job to have, and then I could move a bit closer to the city again.

And my new shoes hurt, the $40 insoles that were supposed to be the best out there SUCK!! They have these stupid hard plastic ridges around the heal that dig in and leave very tender feet. The shoes aren't really that bad with better insoles, but I am not happy that I wasted $40 for these things.

Blown on the steel breeze

Last day of freedom, work beckons and I will be there tomorrow for my first shift in over 7 weeks. I just hope my tools have arrived from France, otherwise it will be a long day.

Looking back, I haven't completed all that I had set out to do, not that I was completely lazy, just moderately so. I got new work boots, saw tons of friends, got my Christmas shopping done (na-na, I am done and you aren't!), did a bunch of photography, Geo-cached a fair bit, looked into motorcycle lessons (will probably go for them in February or March), looked into a Swiss Passport (Dad will have to get his again first), got the brakes done on my car, and spent too many late nights surfing the net (found Top Gear videos...w00t!) and playing Warcraft.

There were a few things that I should have done, like working on my French lessons, and replacing my windshield, but those aren't the end of the world.

I am kind of looking forward to being back at work, a person needs a bit of structure to their lives, and work helps give them that. On the other side, I really am not looking forward to being back in the barn, after working the ramp all summer.

I also haven't found out if I will be going back to France for Christmas, or if I will be there next year for an 18 month stint. It would be nice to know so that I can plan my life, instead of rushing around all over the place like a chicken with my head cut off. There are lots of things to get done if I go away for 18 months, like finding a place to store my stuff, and selling my car. Those aren't things that take a day or so and I would like to get going on them if it is the case.

It has been good, but all good things must come to an end. Back to the grind.


[Edit] Hehe, just got a call, looks like I am not back to work for another night, they are short one airplane, which means no work. Such a tough life...

Waiting for a place to happen

Walking through downtown Vancouver last night after seeing the movie "Flags of our Fathers", we passed the big construction hole that is Granville street and couldn't help but notice this band, that was inside the security fence with lights and all their gear, playing a Tragically Hip song. I really couldn't tell if it was the Hip, they were all in costume and make-up for Hallowe'en, but they sure sounded like the Hip. Was it? Does anyone know the answer for me? I do know that they are going to be doing 4 shows the next few nights, but would they be so cool as to play right in the street?

Either way, it was cool to see a band playing right on Granville, but it was also too cold and we were too hungry to stay and listen. Too bad, would have been a good show.